To make room for it to be towed through the city, dozens of trees were cut down and traffic signs removed.

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It said the felling would be "a race against time" to ensure the trees were cut down before they became prone to infection from the fungus-like pathogen.

BBC: Tree felling

They wanted him to stop responding to the complaints of smallholders in the area that their crops were being destroyed and their trees cut down.

NEWYORKER: Silver or Lead

In the 1960s and 1970s, farmers were sometimes required to cut down trees as a condition for getting credit from the state.

ECONOMIST: The Brazilian Amazon